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. 2012 Sep;3(3):177-84.
doi: 10.1016/j.phrp.2012.07.004.

Opening of the national biobank of Korea as the infrastructure of future biomedical science in Korea

Sang Yun Cho  1 , Eun Jung Hong, Jung Min Nam, Bogkee Han, Chaeshin Chu, Ok Park
Affiliations

Opening of the national biobank of Korea as the infrastructure of future biomedical science in Korea

Sang Yun Cho et al. Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2012 Sep.

Abstract

On April 26, 2012, the Korea National Institute of Health officially held the opening ceremony of newly dedicated biobank building, 'NationalBiobank of Korea'. The stocked biospecimens and related information have been distributed for medical and public health researches. The Korea Biobank Project, which was initiated in 2008, constructed the Korea Biobank Network consisting of the National Biobank of Korea (NBK) with 17 regional biobanks in Korea. As of December 2011, a total of 525,416 biospecimens with related information have been secured: 325,952 biospecimens from the general population obtained through cohort studies and 199,464 biospecimens of patients from regional biobanks. A large scale genomic study, Korea Association Resource (KARE) and many researches utilized the biospecimens secured through Korea Genome Epidemiology Study (KoGES) and Korea Biobank Project (KBP). Construction of 'National Biobank of Korea', a dedicated biobank building at Osong means that NBK can manage and check quality of the biospecimens with promising distribution of 26 million vials of biospecimen, which provide the infrastructure for the development of health technology in Korea. The NBK and the National Library of Medicine (to be constructed in 2014) will play a central role in future biomedical research in Korea.

Keywords: Korea Biobank Network; Korea Biobank Project; National Biobank of Korea; biobank; biospecimen; cohort.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Location of National biobank and regiononal biobanks in Korea.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Number of participants in biobanks in Korea.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Total number of collected biospecimens in KBP (as of Dec. 2011).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Number of disease participants in regional biobanks of Korea Biobank Network. Disease categories : KCD-6 (Korean Standard Classification of Disease), Unit : Participants.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.. Number of distributed biospecimens (2001–2011).
Figure 6.
Figure 6.. Total number of publications (As of Dec. 2011).
Figure 7.
Figure 7.. Sectors in the National Biobank of Korea.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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